Thursday, October 17

The last week has been an overwhelming flood of emotions, surprises, and blessings. We are parents. Tim and I are Mom and Dad. We have a baby. Not just a baby, a daughter! One beautiful, breathtaking, loved daughter.

And this is how it happened...

Tuesday night we checked in to to the hospital - both of us a little "deer in the headlights" - not having a clue what we were doing. The nurses put the monitors on and realized I was contracting every 2-3 minutes. Great sign - my body was working the way it was supposed to! They kept asking if I could feel any of the contractions, which I couldn't. I was still at 1cm, which meant we would continue with the induction plan. They went ahead an inserted Cervadil to soften my cervix so that we could be induced the following morning. Now time for sleep. Our last good sleep. (Unknowingly to us.)

Wednesday morning came quickly. I woke up so excited. Tim and I were like little kids on Christmas morning just waiting to open our gift. I received the Pitocin around 7:30am in the morning. I began having mild contractions shortly after and at 8:00am Dr. Lofton came in and broke my water. At this point I was dilated to 2cm. Dr. Lofton had each of us pick what time we thought the baby would come. I chose 2:00, Tim chose 11:30, and our nurse said 4:00. That was just another moment that made me realize that we were having a baby TODAY! Shortly after my water broke I began having contractions every 2-3 minutes, but this time I could feel them. The pain was resting in my lower back. It started off pretty manageable, but within 30 minutes, I was puking through each one. Things got real, real fast. I had no idea what the pain would feel like, and even now if I tried to describe it, I wouldn't be able to give it justice. I just know NOTHING was soothing it. Not a birthing ball, not counter-pressure from Tim, not anything. We did this for about an hour and a half until I was in constant tears. My goal was to get to a 7-8 on my pain scale before I even thought about an epidural. I had no idea I would get there so quickly. As soon as I decided I was ready for one, the nurse (I haven't mentioned this but...my nurse was amazing!) hooked up my saline bags, called the anesthesiologist, and got everything ready for the epidural. Just knowing that relief was coming made each contraction a little more bearable. Within about 45 minutes the epidural was in and I was pain-free. I could breath again. I could make eye contact with Tim without crying. I could be in the moment with him.

I was able to relax and sleep a little. I woke up around noon and was dilated to 6cm. Sleeping - feeling zero pain - I dilated 3cm. I couldn't believe it. My nurse checked again at 1:45 and I was 8cm. She told me to let her know if I felt any pressure. She came back 15 minutes later and I let her know that I could feel a little pressure with each contraction. She checked my cervix and I was complete - 10cm and 100% effaced. She said she wanted the baby to come down on it's own before we started pushing, so she was going to give us about 15 minutes. When she told us this, Tim and I just looked at each other with huge eyes. She left the room and both of us were giddy as could be. We knew it wouldn't be long. We didn't know it would be so soon, either.

My nurse came back and had me do a "practice" push to see how close the baby was. I was instructed to push three times through each contraction. The contraction started and we made it through one push before she told me to stop because she could already see the head. This is where things got really exciting and completely surreal. She called Dr. Lofton and at 2:20, we were pushing for a baby. I pushed through two contractions and the baby's head was out and the third contraction brought us our little baby girl. Tim cut her cord and she was here. My heart was racing with adrenaline and I kept repeating "Oh My God, she is beautiful. Oh my God, she is beautiful."with tears in my eyes. Tim rushed to get his camera and capture a few moments - but the ones I will remember most vividly are just in our memories. Her first cry - her huge eyes - and those tiny little legs. The fact she was a she! Our daughter was here. We are Mom and Dad. Everything thereafter is a blur. I could only focus on that one little heartbeat that had just entered the room and stolen us.

So, I would like to proudly introduce you to our daughter.

Liv Emmaline Sullentrup
Born October 9th, 2013 / 6lbs 15oz / 20.5"

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